GNOME:
GNOME is chock-full of cutting edge technologies. Network transparent component technology using CORBA, extensive use of XML, and one of the most advanced imaging models on any platform are only some of the features that makes GNOME the closest to rocket science you're likely to run on your desktop. In addition, it's all implemented in extremely efficient C, which makes it fast, lean, and very portable.

KDE:
KDE The Desktop Environment
With KDE there is now an easy to use contemporary desktop environment available for UNIX. Together with a free implementation of UNIX such as Linux, UNIX/KDE constitutes a completely free and open computing platform available to anyone free of charge including its source code for anyone to modify. While there will always be room for improvement we believe to have delivered a viable alternative to some of the more commonly found and commercial operating systems/desktops combinations available today. It is our hope that the combination UNIX/KDE will finally bring the same open, reliable, stable and monopoly free computing to the average computer user that scientist and computing professionals world-wide have enjoyed for years.


There are the contenders. What divides them? Two HUGH issues in the Linux world. First, Linux is based on the Linux kernel and GNU utilities. Both the kernel and the utilities are under the GPL license. That license makes them and their source code forever free and freely available. Many Linux purists will not use non-GPL software on their Linux installation. This is the first dividing line between the KDE and GNOME camps. (Both issues are ignored by a hugh number of new Linux users who could care less and only want their computer to do something useful without crashing or costing them an arm and a leg.) KDE is built using a 'widget' toolkit that was NOT initally under the GPL, and a currently used version of it, used in KDE, is under the LGPL, a limited GPL license. Not good enough for those that prefer the GPL only. Second issue: methodology. The QT widget set uses the 'Signal-slot' methodology to enable events to communicate to apps. GNOME uses CORBA, an entirely different approach. To many, this is like arguing about whose wife is prettier.

It's a religious war. To some extremists it is a Jahad.
Ignore them. It's the safer thing to do.

Install them both. Try them both. Use which ever desktop you like.
That is the beautiful thing about having CHOICE!
JLK